Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
What does it mean to sing a song for an imperfect nation: one that praises, questions, and dreams all at once? At a time when the United States stands at a crossroads—grappling with division, doubt, and the search for common purpose—Ada Limón, the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States, offers a language of connection and care.
In this special evening, we will explore how poetry can hold both love and critique, history and hope, helping a fractured nation imagine itself anew. Limón’s poem “A New National Anthem,” written in a single sitting in a moment of catharsis, first caught the attention of the Library of Congress and led to her appointment as Poet Laureate. Throughout her tenure, she has argued that art in service of the public must act as both mirror and map, reflecting who we are while guiding us toward who we might become.
From her poem written for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to her meditations on the quiet grace of America’s national parks, Limón’s commissioned work as Poet Laureate connects the cosmic and the intimate. Through her poetry, she invites us to see the country and ourselves with renewed tenderness and courage. In an age when fear and fragmentation too often define the civic spirit, Limón’s voice calls us back to expansiveness, wonder, and vulnerability—the very qualities that may yet sustain the American experiment.
This event was recorded at the Dominicuskerk in Amsterdam on March 5, 2026
What does it mean to sing a song for an imperfect nation: one that praises, questions, and dreams all at once? At a time when the United States stands at a crossroads—grappling with division, doubt, and the search for common purpose—Ada Limón, the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States, offers a language of connection and care.
In this special evening, we will explore how poetry can hold both love and critique, history and hope, helping a fractured nation imagine itself anew. Limón’s poem “A New National Anthem,” written in a single sitting in a moment of catharsis, first caught the attention of the Library of Congress and led to her appointment as Poet Laureate. Throughout her tenure, she has argued that art in service of the public must act as both mirror and map, reflecting who we are while guiding us toward who we might become.
From her poem written for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to her meditations on the quiet grace of America’s national parks, Limón’s commissioned work as Poet Laureate connects the cosmic and the intimate. Through her poetry, she invites us to see the country and ourselves with renewed tenderness and courage. In an age when fear and fragmentation too often define the civic spirit, Limón’s voice calls us back to expansiveness, wonder, and vulnerability—the very qualities that may yet sustain the American experiment.
This event was recorded at the Dominicuskerk in Amsterdam on March 5, 2026
